The highs, lows, and adventures of living joyfully with chronic pain as a young adult

Diet

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post, folks! There’s been quite a bit going on around here, including purchasing a business (I’ll talk more about that soon, as well as my most recent checkup with my neurologist) and I simply let it slide.

But! I have a super simple, but still pretty tasty dinner recipe for you today. Just as background, I have a severe cow milk allergy and then I typically avoid wheat, processed sugar, caffeine, and spicy peppers (like chilies) as those make me flare, so my recipes won’t include any of those ingredients. Feel free to modify to suit your tastebuds and tolerances :).

Add sliced veggies. Stir frequently over medium heat until veggies are beginning to turn transparent in the middle.

Turn off burner and set the skillet to the side.

Quinoa directions:

Place liquid and Smart Balance in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.

Add rinsed quinoa, stir, and bring back to a boil.

Cover with a lid and turn burner down to low.

Cook for approximately 20 minutes (should absorb the liquid and light colored, spiralled tails will emerge when the quinoa is done).

Remove from burner.

Serve with the quinoa as a base and the skillet as a topping (Or the reverse. Whatever trips your trigger). Enjoy!

My handheld mandolin for slicing vegetables. This makes slicing very quick and also saves a lot of wrist movement if that’s a problem for anyone. And it’s pretty easy to clean.

Cooking the squash (If you’re wondering why on earth the burger is orange, fear not! It’s not going bad. It was just a pound that I had stretched with carrots and celery – Bonus points for extra veggies! But definitely not necessary).